United Gunworks UG-1 Alpha

The Alpha is United Gunworks' flagship pistol. It's a full-size 9mm double stack built from start to finish in the company's 60,000 square foot shop in Peoria, Arizona. United Gunworks puts it simply: nothing is bought finished. Frames, slides and working parts are machined, hand-fit, finished and function-checked under one roof.

This is the base configuration in black. Every Alpha uses a 4.5-inch match-grade island barrel. United Gunworks now ships the Ultra-Ported version as standard, which vents gas to keep the muzzle flat, though a non-ported barrel is available if you prefer the classic look. The slide is lightened to cut its moving mass, so it returns to zero faster between shots.

The frame is full-size steel with an accessory rail machined into the dust cover for a weapon light. The grip is checkered in house for a solid hold in wet or dry hands, and a flared magwell guides the magazine on reloads. The flat-face trigger breaks at 2 to 3 pounds with a clean, repeatable reset.

Sighting is modular. The slide takes United Gunworks' optic plate system, and you choose an RMR, DPP, RMSc or ACRO plate at no extra charge. Each Alpha is built to order, which is why there's a lead time, and it arrives in a hard case with magazines, a manual and inspection paperwork. The black finish is PVD coated on the frame, slide and working parts.

If you like knowing that the pistol in your hand was cut and fitted in one place, the Alpha makes a strong case for itself.